Fritzl could be sent to mental institution

Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man who imprisoned his daughter in a cellar dungeon for 24 years and fathered seven children by her, could be put in a mental institution where he would receive psychiatric care and therapy instead of going to prison.

Prosecutors are likely to demand that Fritzl be confined to a prison for the criminally insane.Photo: AFP

3:57PM BST 15 Oct 2008

Earlier this week, Fritzl, 73, was declared clinically sane and fit for trial by a forensic psychiatrist, who, however, also diagnosed a "serious personality disorder".

Austrian prosecutors are now likely to use that diagnosis to demand that he be confined to a prison for the criminally insane, which is a mixture between a hospital and a penal institution, according to the Austrian broadsheet Die Presse.

The newspaper claims the move comes as a bid on behalf of prosecutors to ensure that Fritzl would never be allowed back into society again, as the maximum sentence he is likely to face at the trial is up to 15 years in prison for charges of rape, incest, incarceration and coercion.

Criminally insane offenders can only be released if an expert psychiatrist hired by a court confirms that they are no longer a threat to society, which, prosecutors believe, is not likely to take place in Fritzl's case.

One of the children born by his daughter Elisabeth, 42, died shortly after birth and Fritzl hurled his body in an incinerator. He is therefore also facing charges for manslaughter for the baby that died, which would however be difficult to prove in court due to lack of evidence as the baby died in 1996.

Prosecutors are also exploring the possibility of charging Fritzl with slavery under a Penal Law paragraph that has never been used before.

Austrian authorities would not comment on the reports, but a spokesman for the prosecutors confirmed that they could demand from the court to commit Fritzl to an asylum for the criminally insane, in addition to his prison sentence.

That means Fritzl would be sentenced in court and a judge would then have to decide whether to put him in prison or commit him to a mental institution for criminal offenders.

Alternatively, Fritzl could be also ordered to receive psychiatric care and therapy in a prison while serving his sentence.